I was going to write my race report today. Instead in light of current events, I've decided to tell a story about an experience I had last year. I went to run a race in Bryce canyon for my birthday. I few into Las Vegas, and then headed out in my rental car for Hatch, Utah, the tiny town where the trail race would begin. It was mid-May and a storm was passing through. I had gone into a Goodwill store before I left to purchase some warmer layers because I hadn't been expecting snow. I ended up wearing oversized sweat pants and a dark blue hoody pulled up over my head.
Along the highway as snow flurries began I pulled off in a remote tiny town to ask about road conditions ahead. I went into a convenience store, wandered the aisles browsing for a bit, and then asked at the counter if they knew about road conditions. I got confirmation that I was on the best route and a couple people in line offered info, one trucker telling me he had just come from the direction I was heading and that it was all clear. Everyone smiled. Everyone was helpful.
I got back in my car feeling very pleased with how the morning was going, thinking how friendly this tiny town was. Then I thought about how I was dressed. Then I thought, what if I had been a black or brown man in a hoody and baggy sweats, or even in nice clothes for that matter? Would I have been treated so well? And I knew I wouldn't have been. Maybe I was just doing some of my own bigoted profiling of the townspeople, but I saw Trump stickers and gun racks and came to my own biased conclusions. I sat in my car and cried.
I'm not saying there would necessarily have been violence or danger had I been a person of color, but there might have been. At the least I think there would have been fear or suspicion on both sides. And that is wrong and it makes me angry. When will this stop? When will we learn? Where is the love?
Along the highway as snow flurries began I pulled off in a remote tiny town to ask about road conditions ahead. I went into a convenience store, wandered the aisles browsing for a bit, and then asked at the counter if they knew about road conditions. I got confirmation that I was on the best route and a couple people in line offered info, one trucker telling me he had just come from the direction I was heading and that it was all clear. Everyone smiled. Everyone was helpful.
I got back in my car feeling very pleased with how the morning was going, thinking how friendly this tiny town was. Then I thought about how I was dressed. Then I thought, what if I had been a black or brown man in a hoody and baggy sweats, or even in nice clothes for that matter? Would I have been treated so well? And I knew I wouldn't have been. Maybe I was just doing some of my own bigoted profiling of the townspeople, but I saw Trump stickers and gun racks and came to my own biased conclusions. I sat in my car and cried.
I'm not saying there would necessarily have been violence or danger had I been a person of color, but there might have been. At the least I think there would have been fear or suspicion on both sides. And that is wrong and it makes me angry. When will this stop? When will we learn? Where is the love?
No comments:
Post a Comment